Jacob
Sign in to saveJacob, later given the name Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother Esau, Jacob's paternal grandparents are Abraham and Sarah and his maternal grandfather is Bethuel, whose wife is not mentioned. He is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau. Then, following a severe drought in his homeland Canaan, Jacob and his descendants migrated to
AI overview
Jacob is a central figure in Hebrew scripture who, according to the Torah, was the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, and who later became known as Israel. He is significant in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because he is considered a patriarch whose twelve sons became the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel, making him a foundational ancestor in Abrahamic religious tradition.
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Key facts
- Person.name
- Jacob
- Person.native_name_lang
- he
- Person.image
- Jan Victors - Jacob Seeking the Forgiveness of Esau - 79.330 - Indianapolis Museum of Art (cropped).jpg
- Person.caption
- Detail from Jacob Seeking the Forgiveness of Esau (1652) by Jan Victors
- Person.other_names
- Israel ()
- Person.resting_place
- Cave of Machpelah, Hebron, Canaan (traditional)
- Person.known_for
- Being a Hebrew patriarch and the forefather of the Israelites
- Person.father
- Isaac
- Person.mother
- Rebecca
- Person.spouse
- LeahRachel
- Person.partner
- BilhahZilpah
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
28 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Hebrew
- Greek
- Genesis narrative
- Birth to Isaac and Rebecca
- Acquiring Esau's birthright
- Blessing of Isaac
- Jacob's Ladder
- Marriages
- Journey back to Canaan
- In Hebron
- Famine of the Near East
- Migration to Egypt
- Pharaoh's meeting
- Final days: Blessing of Jacob
- Death
- Children of Israel
- Religious perspectives
- Judaism
- Christianity
- Islam
- Nation of Islam
- Historicity
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Jacob, later given the name Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother Esau, Jacob's paternal grandparents are Abraham and Sarah and his maternal grandfather is Bethuel, whose wife is not mentioned. He is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau. Then, following a severe drought in his homeland Canaan, Jacob and his descendants migrated to neighbouring Egypt through the efforts of his son Joseph, who had become a confidant of the pharaoh. After dying in Egypt at the age of 147, he is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron.
Per the Hebrew Bible, Jacob's progeny were beget by four women: his wives (and maternal cousins) Leah and Rachel; and his concubines Bilhah and Zilpah. His sons were, in order of their birth: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. He also had a daughter named Dinah, born to his first wife Leah. The descendants of Jacob's sons were collectively known as the Israelites, with each son being the forefather of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, of whom all but the Tribe of Levi were allotted territory in the Land of Israel. The Genesis narrative also states that Jacob displayed favoritism among his wives and children, preferring Rachel and her sons Joseph and Benjamin to the rest—culminating in Joseph's older brothers selling him into slavery out of resentment.